Tube cleaner



J. T. McGRATH.

TUBE CLEANER.

APPLlCATlON FILED OCT- 27, 1920.

1,405,930, Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

J. T. McGRATH.

TUBE CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED 001.27. 1920.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922,

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 citizen of the United from the operative UNITED STATES JOHN TiIoMAs MOGRATIH, or BLOOMINGTQN, ILLINOIS. 7

' TUBE CLEANER.

To all whom it may concern: v I I 1 Be it known thatLJoHN T.'MCGRATH, a

States, and a resident of Bloomington, in the county otMcLeen and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements I in Tube Cleaners; and I do hereby "declare 'thatthe following is a full," clear, and exact de scription thereof, referencebeing had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a pert of this specification.

This invention relates to improven ents in tube cleaners of a type'in which the external scale is removed from the tubes by the application of a series of toothed orotherwise roughened hardened steel cutter wheels which are adapted to be disposed symmetrically about the tube to'be cleaned, with means for ejecting. the tubes from the machine when certain of the cutter wheels are separated from the others and power means for rotating the cutter wheels;

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simple machine for this purpose which can be made in large part automatic in'its action, so that the tubes can be delivered to the machine at intervals of time to correspondto the speed of? the machine and can be either auto matically or manually thrown out of the cleaning Zone of the machine. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement of thecutter wheels whereby the series of cutter wheels can be arranged in upper and lower pairs,

symmetrically disposedabout the axis of the tube, some of the wheels constituting drivthe tubes to be cleaned can rest, asin a cradle, and the other beingmounted to be freely rotable and to be moved toward and cutting positions in timed relation to the ejecting and driving means. so that the rli'lierent operative elements may 3 I ointed in suitably timed sequence to, lie the tubes, clean them. and to eie t the med tubes from the machine.

z t-oi the invention is to pro Smother 0 "(Mia ii'lllilfillllifi of theflgeneral character wherein the cutter wheels are arranged in upper and lower serie and provided with loading and dischargi g, platforms parallel til we oi utter wheels arranged With Specification of Letters Patent.

machine and in a timed relation to and the cutter Patented Feb. 7, 1 922 Application filed October 27,1920. Serial in. 419,889.

with respect to said wheels as [to permit scaled tubes to be readily. rolled into the charged from the machine.

cleaned tubes readilyi dis- Another object of the inventionis toiprovide' automatic means for. operatingthe' different fundamental elements of the machine permit ample time for the tubes to be delivered to and discharged from the machine.

'A further object of the invention is to provide'a machine of this characterwhich is adapted to operate on tubes ,ofdifferent diameters and lengths.

Aiurther object of the invention: is to provide a novel means for throwing out the cleaned tubes after they have been cleaned wheels have been separated, which 1 throw-out device may be manually or automatically operated. Other objects of'the invention are tojimprove and simplifymachines for thisjpurpose, and the invention consists in the combination'and arrangement of the parts shown and is pointed out in the appended Figure 3 is. an enlarged transverse sec-.

of the cutter wheels shown in Figure r tion v 2 and their mountings; v I

F igure 4 1s a sectional V ew of the air pressure boxfshowing the valves for coning and supporting wheels, between which with I parts either in the drawings and described in the specitrolling-the various pneumatically operated I parts of the machine, to be hereinafter described.

valve controlling cam. I

The frame of the 1 machine comprises a Figure 5 is a face view of one form of base 10 and uprights ll fixed to the base at tie toot portions 12 and provided at their upper ends with inwardly facing pads 13 for the cylinders 14, and an intermediate fixed trust member 15 which extends horizontally between the uprights 11 and is fasany suitable fashion: The

parts rotational movement to the wheel 24 the tubes to the machine.

and cutter wheels 41. The sharp teeth of.

the latter wheels break or puncture theS ale on the tube. Inasmuch as the tube is rolled freely between the upper and lower wheels, different areas of the scaleenvelope .of the tube are successively presented to; the wheels, with a result that all parts ofthe scale envelope are attacked and removed. I;

The upper cleaning wheels frame, adapted to be pneumatically lifted by compressed air admitted under pistons 49 in the cylinders 14 before referred to, the stems or rods of the pistons being loosely. connected to the. raising and lowering carrier frame,"

as by being forked and fitted over the upstanding. web of said frame and bolted thereto. The said pistonsv are connected by pipes 50 with the valved pressure box 35 through a. common pipe 51 which is connected at the box.

In order that the carrier frame and the upper cutter wheels shall not descend too low, when no tube is between the cutter and driving and supporting wheels, stops 58, rising from the truss or girderframe member near the ends thereof are provided which are in position to engage, brackets 59 on the carrier frame (Figure 2) These stops may be sprincr stops or buffers, if desired.

nalbridgepiece 61 between theinner side of said platform and the lower supporting and driving rollers facilitates the direction of Likewise, a downwardly inclined discharge platform 62 may be arranged at the discharge side of the machine to receive and direct the cleaned tubes when they are discharged from the,

machine, inclined approaches 63 being lo'catedat the receiving sideof the discharge platform, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The tubes may be rolled into and from the machine in any suitable manner. As herein shown, they are adapted tobe rolled manually into the machine, and are adapted to be discharged. from themachine by two or more throw-out arms 65. They are pivoted on the shaft 22 of the supporting rollers 24: and are formed with inwardly extending grins, preferably having upper concave suraces. operative posit-ion of the tube in the machine when a tube is supported or being are power actuated, although they may be hand actuated. i lqiei power actuated, the

They are adapted to lie beneath the bearings 70 on the machine frame. Said rock shaft is connected to the levers 66-of the throw-out arms by means of crank arms 71" depending from the rock shaft and links 72, as best shown in Figures 1 and 2. The said rock shaft is shown as actuated by connection to the stem 73 of a piston 73 which reciprocatesin a cylinder 74 that is fixed to the upright 11 adj acent to the powernend of the machine. The outer end of the cylinder 74: is connected by apipe 7 5 with the'valve controlled air box35 in the same manner as arev the pipes 50 for'raising theupper cutter wheels, as will be hereinafter described. A spring 77' interposed between one head of the cylinder 74 and said piston acts, through the crank link and lever connections, to normally hold the piston 73 in the back end of the cylinder 74 and to hold the throwout arms in the position shownin Figures 2 and When air under pressure is admitted to said cylinder 7 4 in rear of the piston 73, said piston is forced outwardly against the action of the spring 7 to swing the throw-out arms through an arc of movement that will eject a cleaned tube.

This ejecting movement of the throw-out arms and the return movement thereof'to pass into position beneath the next tube to be cleaned occurs at a time when the carrier frame 20 and the cutter wheels 41 are in their elevated positionsand at a time when the shaft is unclutched from power.

It will, of course, be understood that the various mechanism, to -wit, the clutch mech anism, the upper cutter wheel elevating mechanism, and the throw-out mechanism may be manually operated or a portion of them so operated. Preferabl however, and as herein shown, all of these-various mecha-- nisms are automatically operated by pneumatic means, which embrace the air pressure box 35, shown in Figures land't. This illustration is diagrammatic in its character, and

it will be understood that any suitable form of pressure box, valves, and valve controlling mechanism maybe employed, which will enable theparts to be operated in synchronism with each other. A form of pressure box and valve mechanism is shown in Figure 4 and a form of controlling cam for operating the stems of the valves is illustrated in Figure 5. The pressure box 35 embracesa free rear chamber 80, into which the valve pipe 36*enters, that is connected with a suitable source of constant pressure, preferably air under pressure. 'Adiaphragm" 81 separates the chamber from a plurality of independent valve chambers'82, 88, 8 1. The Valve chamber 82 is connected to the pipe 75 which leads to the cylinder 7 1. The chamber 84 is shown as connected to theclutch 0 erating cylinder 28 through the pipe 33.,

' he intermediate valve chamber 83 is, in

like manner, connected tothe pipe 51 that is 1 common to the pipes 50 which, in turn, coma municate with the'operating cylinders 14 of the upper cutter wheel raisingand lowering device. This latter connection is indicatedby the opening shown in the valve chamber Each of the valvechambers 82 to 84, 'inclu'sive,is connected by a port with the pressure'chamber 80, and theports are normallyi spring closed by valves 85, 86, 87 when the machine is not in operation; .Saidvalves V are provided with stems 88, 89, 90, which extend beyond the valves in both directions. The rear ends of the stems'enter sockets or recessesin screw threaded plugs 92' that are threaded through the rear wall of the pressure'box, the rearends of said stemsslidingly fitting said sockets and bearing against spiral expansion springs 94: which tendto press the valves to their seats. The valve stems 88, 89, extend inwardlythrough the chambers 82 to '84, inclusive, and their extreme ends enter and are guidingly engziged of the, valve chambers 82 to 84:, inclusive,

is provided with small exhaust ports99, 100, 101, respectively, through which air is exhausted from said valve chambers after their respective main valves 85, 86 87 areclosed in the sequence of the operation of the ma- 1 chine, so as to permit mechanisms that are controlled by said valvesto be'restored to inoperative positions; that is to say, to per mit' the clutch to be released, the upper cutter wheels to be lowered and the throw-out.

arms to be restored. These valve ports 99,

100, and 101 are so located with respect to the inner enlarged ends of the tappetextensions 95, 96,97, that said enlarged ends constitute valves to control the exhaust ports,

that when a tappet member is forced in-1 wardly to open its main valve. The enlarged inner end of the tappet extension will first close its associated exhaust port due to the fact that the spring 98 is of less strength than the corresponding. valve restoring spr ng 94:. Therefore, when a tappet e'x-r,

tension is moved inwardly the first effect of the inward movement is tocut off its associated" port 99, 100,"101 and thereafter,

through the valve stem 88,89, v90, move the associated main valve away from'its port andthereby permit air to pass from" the pressure chamber-.80 to that one of the pressure pipes which leads to the associated mechanism to be operated by air pressure.

The said valves areiherein shown ascontrolled" by a 'controller'cam 102, shown in Figures 1 and 5 thatmay be rotatably mounted onthe frame in'any suitable manner and isgea redto a'pinion 103. that is driven by'a motor 104.- I Said controlling cani'disc is provided lonit s inner face or the side towards the-pressure andvalve box with a plurality of arc-shaped cam ribs 105,106,107, which are adapted, respectively,-in the'rotation of r the cam disc to contact with "the tappets'95, 96, and 97.. The intermediate cam'rib 106 controls,'byengagement with the tappet96,

the raising and lowering of the upper cutter wheels; and is made of a length to hold said cutter wheels and carrier. frame upwardly during the time a tube is being ejected from the machine by the throw-out arms and an-. a

other'fed into themachine. 'The other cams 105, 107 are-of such length and are so disposed with respect to the intermediate longer cam as to operate their associated valves to perform the unclutching and throw-out funcs' tionsin the sequence desired, it beingunderstoodthat the valve which controls the clutch that connects driving'power to the machine will be open at a time when the cutter Wheel and throw-out arm valves are closed, so'that power is applied to rotate the live shaft 22 whenthe upper cutter wheels 41 are resting on the tubev interposed between the latter cutter wheels and the lower driving and cutter wheels. u I 1 The arc-shaped cam ribs will preferably be tapered at their ends, so as to permitthe mechanisms of the machine controlled thereby to: be broughtv gradually into worklng position and brought'gradually to rest.

The employment of the rock shaft 68, as

described, permits the throw-out mechanism to beoperated by asingle motor that can be,

and is herein shown, asconnected to one'end of therock shaft, and at the same time per mits'the throw-out arms and their connec tions 'to be adjusted longitudinally of the shafts 22 and 68 and locked thereto, as will be, obvious. This arrangement permits the throw-outvmechanism to symmetrically op-- erate on different length tubes, as will be apparent; I, V p

When all the various mechanlsm, to-wit,

the pneumatic clutch, the'cutter wheel car-i rier, and the tube throw-out device are thus operated automatically in proper sequence,

the carrier frame, with the upper cutter rolla new tube delivered to the machine, during ers, is first raised to permit a tubeto be placed into the machine on the driving and supporting rollers or wheels, and the said carrier frame and cutter wheels are allowed to descend, which may be effected by gravity, slowed down by the slow closing of the associated controlling valve. Just as, or before, the cutter wheels are brought into contact with the tube, the pneumatic clutch is slowly thrown into operation to effect the clutching of the driving wheels to power and to turn the driving wheel and thetube to effect the rotation of all the wheels; After the wheels have been turned the required number of times to clean thetube,the carrier actuating valve is opened to permit an interval of time for a tube to be discharged from the machine, as by the throw-out arms, and the throw-out arms to be returned and which time the clutch valve may be operated to cut off driving power from'the machine.

Thereafter, the carrier will be allowed to descend to engage the upper cutter wheels with the new tube delivered to the machine. It will be necessary to properly time the cam disc 102 relatively to the control valve stems of different, pneumatically controlled mechanisms to effect these various operations in proper'timed relation, and it will also be necessary for the controlling cam to be operated in such relative time movement to allow the operator time for each individual manual operation and also to permit the various parts to return in proper time for sequential operations. So also, the length and relative engagement of the cam ribs may be difi'erentlyarranged to adjust the machine to different character work, as, for instance, the character of thescale, its thickness, et cetera.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tube cleaning machine comprising driving and supporting elements fora tube, cutter elements movable towards and from the driving and supporting elements, and a throw-out means normally below the working position of the tube in the machine for discharging a cleaned tube from the machine when the cutter elements are out of operative position,

2, A tube cleaning machine comprising driving and supporting elements for a tube, freely rotative cutter elements movable towards and from the driving and supporting elements and adapted for working con-' tact with a tube, and an automatically aotuable throw-out device to discharge a cleaned tube from the machine when'the cutter elements are out of operative position.

3. A tube cleaning machine comprising rotative driving and supporting elementsfor a tube, freely rotative cutter elements movable towards and from the driving and Supporting elements, and a reversibly movable, pneumatically operable clean tube throw-out device.

4. A tube cleaning machine comprising driving and supporting elements for a tube, freely rotative cutter elements for contact with the tubes, raisable and lowerable relatively to the driving and supporting elements, automatically operable means to connect' power to the driving elements, other automatic means to raise the cutter elements permitting them to lower for contact with a tube, and automatic means to throw a cleaned tube from the machine and to return to normal position below the tube posit-ion, operative when the said cutter elements are raised;

5 A tube cleaning machine com rising'a frame embracing a raisable and owerable carrier, a series of cutter, supporting, and driving elements arranged to encircle a tube in its cleaning position, some of which elements are rotatively mounted on the raisable and lower-able carrier, and others of which are fixed on shafts rotatively mounted in the machine, means for raising said carrier to permit a tube to be lodged into its cleaning position and to be removed therefrom, one of the tube supporting series of elements being roughened for contact with the tube, means for mounting other of the series to permit yielding lateral adjustment thereof to adapt them to different tube diameters; and means for rotatin the roughened series to thereby rotate the tu e and cutter elements when in contact with the cutter elements.

6. A tube cleaning machine comprisinga frame embracing a raisable and lowerable carrier, a series of cutter, supportingfand driving wheels arranged to encircle a tube in its cleaning position in the machine, some of which are mounted on the raisable and the lowerable carrier and others of which are fixed on shaftsrotatively mounted in the machine, means for raising said carrier and its wheels to permit a tube to be lodged into and ejected from its cleaning position, one of the series of lower wheels being roughened for contact with the tube, with means to rotate the latter elements, and 'throwout means operative when the upper cutter wheels are raised.

7. A- tube cleaning machine comprising aframe embracing a raisable and lowerable cutter element carrier, a series of rotative cutter, driving, and supporting elements, all adapted. for simultaneous contact with a tube, some of which aremounted on'the carrier, and others on shafts mounted in the machine, one of whichis a driving shaft, and automatic means operative separately to raise said carrier to connect power to 581d.

frame, embracing a raisable and lowera Is to eject a cleaned tube cutter element carrier, a series of cutter,

driving, and supporting elements adapted for simultaneous contact with a tube, some of which are rotatively mounted on the carrier, shafts on which the other elements are fixed, one of which is a driving shaft, means for discharging cleaned tubes from the machine, and pneumatically controlled means operative separately to raise said carrier, to operate said tube discharging device, and to connect anddisconnect the driving shaft to power.

9. A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame, embracing a raisable and lowerable cutter element carrier, a series of cutter, driving, and supporting elementsadapted for simultaneous contact-with atube,some of which are rotatively mounted on the carrier,

' tively with said cylinders, anda controller element having a series, of cams respectively to operate the valves of said chambers.

10, A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame, embracinga raisable and lowerable cutter element carrier, va series of cutter, driving, and supporting elements adapted.

' for simultaneous contact with a tube, some of which are rotatively mounted on the carrier, shafts on which the other elements are fixed, one of which is a driving shaft, means for discharging cleaned tubes from the machine, pneumatic means torraise said carrier, and means to operate the tube discharging device and to connect the driving shaft to power, embracinga constant pressure box, valve controlled chambers communicating with said box through ports controlled by valves, and communicating with said several operating elements, and a rotativc power driven element having cams to separately actuate said valves.

11. A machine for cleaning tubes com prising a frame, lower driving and support. ing elements mounted therein on. which a tube to be cleaned is supported, as in a cradle, upper cutter elements adapted to engage the periphery of the-tube simultaneously with said lower elements, a carrier supported on the frame in which said upper cutter elements are rotatively mounted,'mea ns for raising sald carrier to permit a tube to be fed into and discharged from the machine,

and; meansr for drivin one otsaid lower elements, acting through. vsaid. tube to rotate it and torotate the upper cutter elements when in contact with the tube, 12. A machine for cleaning tubes cmnprising a lower series ofdriving and supporting elements, an upper series of cutter elements adapted with the driving and supporting elements for encircling contact with a tube, means to raise'said cutter elements away from the supporting and drivingelements, atube throw-outelement with its activepon tion beneath the cleaning position of the tube in the machine and pivoted to the support for the driving elements, and means operativelwhen the'cutter elements are raised to actuate said throw-out element. a

13. Amachi ne for cleaning tubes comprising a lower series of driving and supporting elements, an upper series of cutter elements adapted with the driving andcsupporting elements for encircling contact with; a tube, means to,raise said cutterelemen'ts away from the supporting and driving elements, tube throw-out elements with-their active portions beneath the cleaning position of the tube in the machine and pivoted to the supportrfor thedriving elements, means operative, when the cutter elementsare raised, to. or

actuate said throw-out elementsg-andsaid throw-out elements being adjustable along theirpivotsupport.

let. A machine for cleaning tubes comprising a lowerseri s of driving and supporting elements, an upper series of cutter elements adapted Wiilli'tllt} driving and supporting elements forrencircling contact with a tube, means to raise said cutter elements away from the supportinganddriving elements, tube, 5

upper cutter elements adapted toengage the periphery of a-tube,.a. carrier supported on the frame on which said cutterelementsare.

rotatively mounted, means for driving one of said lower elements, 'means for throwing out a clean tubefrOm themachine when said carrier is raised, and pneumatic'means severally to actuate said'dr iving elements,- the carrier, and the throw-out means, each having valvecontrolling means, and a rotative element. provided with cams; forseparately actuating the controlling'valves.

said throw-out device to eject a clean tube from the machine and to permit the throwout device to be returned to its normal receiving position.

17. A tube cleaner comprising a lower pair of driving and supporting notched elements adapted to form a cradle to support a tube, an upper pair of series of cutter elements having means to move them towards and from the tube and adapted to be rotated through the tube from the driving elements, means to eject a clean tube when the cutter elements are raised, a feed platform at one side and above the plane of the tube position in the machine from which the tubes may be rolled into the machine, and an incline discharge platform at the other side of the machine to receive the tubes discharged by the throw out device. 7

18. A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame, a tube support, with means for rotating a tube su ported thereon, an upper pair of series 0 cutter elements having means to raise and lower them from the tube position in the machine, said upper cutter elements being arranged in two lateral,

,endwise disposed series, each with the elements of one series disposed in staggered relation to the elements of the'other upper series of elements.

19. A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame, a tube support with means. for rotating a tube supported thereon, an upper pair of series of cutter elements having means to raise and lower them from the tube position in the machine, said upper cutter elements being arranged in two lateral, endwis'e disposed series, and spring means asso-- mated with the upper serles of elements to permit them to yieldingly separate to adapt them to tubes of different diameters.

20. A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame, a lower series of parallel driving and supportin elements forming a cradle to receive a tu e, a pair of upper, laterally spaced series of cutter elements, a carrier for said cutter elements, with means for raising and lowering said carrier, and means to support the cutter elements from said carrier comprising links pivoted to the carrier in which the cutter elements are rotatively mounted.

21. In a tube cleaning machine, a frame, a pair of laterally spaced upper series of cutter elements, a carrier in which said cutter elements are mounted by means permitting the upper series of cutter elements to adjust themselves to tubes of different diameters, and means to support the tube in cleaning position in the machine.

22. A tube cleaning machine comprising a frame,,a support for a tube, embracing means to rotate the tube, an upper series of cutter elements adapted for contact with the tube when sustained on said support, and V swinging means to support said cutter elements. a v

23. A tube cleaning machlne comprising a frame, a support for a tube, embracing means to rotate the tube, an upper series of cutter elements adapted for contact with the tube when sustained on said support, swinging means to support said cutter elements, and spring means acting against the swinging means to support the cutter ele-' ments to adapt the latter to different diameter tubes. 7

24:. A tube. cleaning machine comprising a frame, a support for a tube, embracing means to rotate the tube, an upper series of cutter elements adapted for contact with the tube when sustained on said support,

and yielding means acting on the cutter elements to yieldingly adapt said cutter elements to tubes of different diameters.

In witness whereof I claim the foregoing as my invention, I hereunto append my signature this 25th day of August, 1920.

JOHN THOMAS MoGRATI-I. 

